Chapter 72
Kaiden took off his Wizard Robe and hung it on a tree branch to dry, then checked Margaret's condition again, who was still unconscious.
Building a bonfire in the middle of the night was dangerous, but if he left her as she was, her body temperature might drop and she could die.
"The bag..."
Come to think of it, the bag Margaret had been carrying was gone. It must have been when she was bounced off by the spider's legs, and the strap broke.
Margaret cherished the items in her bag like her own life, and he couldn't imagine how devastated she would be when she found out.
"...First, we need to survive."
Kaiden knelt in front of Margaret and checked her pulse. His hand, which he placed on her neck to check her pulse, trembled.
He didn't know if it was because he was nervous, or because of the impact of falling off the cliff, or because she still couldn't open her eyes.
Fortunately, her pulse was normal.
"Haa."
A wave of relief washed over him.
Kaiden thought he would never forget the feeling of that moment when Margaret fell off the cliff.
"Damn it, Margaret. Please, open your eyes."
Kaiden muttered, wiping his tired face with his hands.
He pleaded earnestly, but Margaret's closed eyelids didn't budge.
He slowly lowered his head and leaned his forehead against Margaret's shoulder. Hot emotions surged up his throat.
Margaret struggled fiercely to survive, but in fact, she valued her own life less than anyone else among them.
When danger struck, she sacrificed herself for others without hesitation.
The incident where she defeated the Anaconda last time, and what happened a little while ago, were the same.
She could have used him as a shield to save her life, but she didn't.
Kaiden had been keeping a close eye on Margaret.
Her personality and way of speaking, which were hard to explain simply as 'changed,' and her skill in dealing with crisis situations.
The fact that she recognized and read languages he had never seen before, and that she handled strange Magical Artifacts with ease.
The Monsters that tried to attack her first when they were together. But the suspicious Monster egg that somehow reacted favorably only to her.
She was peculiar.
Moreover, she knew about the secret of his earring, which he had never told anyone.
She said she knew the person who made the earring. It was suspicious, but there was no way to verify the truth right now.
He suspected she thought he wouldn't realize why she kept making him do physical labor. He was more perceptive than anyone else.
Most of all, the strangest thing was Kaiden himself.
He watched her closely, and at some point, he had become completely immersed in her.
That was why he showed a dual attitude, not hiding his affection for her even though he knew she was suspicious.
Margaret was always at the end of his gaze. The reason for that wasn't just because of his distrust towards her. He realized that now.
"It's my fault. I..."
He couldn't finish his sentence and swallowed his emotions.
If he hadn't called her to the cliff, or if he hadn't suspected her in the first place, she wouldn't have been in danger.
He quietly stroked Margaret's cold cheek with his thumb. It was as cold as ice, and he couldn't feel any vitality at all.
Guilt pressed down on him with a deep weight that made it hard to breathe.
"I understand you saying such strange things to someone you don't even like. It's because of the earring."
Kaiden closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning his forehead against Margaret's shoulder.
Margaret didn't even sincerely accept his inexplicable affection for her, saying it was 'because the earring was broken.'
That was understandable. He had never shown her trust from the beginning.
He couldn't understand how he had come to have feelings for Margaret Rose Flone, whom he himself despised.
But one thing was clear.
He didn't want Margaret to die.
Even if he himself was hurt and in danger instead, he wanted to save only Margaret.
Kaiden decided to completely dismiss even the slightest suspicion he had left towards her.
What was important now was not the secrets she held, but to figure out where these inexplicable feelings and confusion came from.
So, from now on, he decided to act and speak according to his instincts.
It was the middle of the night when I opened my eyes.
I felt a warm warmth, but it was a bit suffocating. After my vision recovered clearly, the first thing I saw was a firm-looking bare chest. I was surprised and jumped up.
Snow-white silver hair glistening in the moonlight.
A man with his top off was furrowing his brow and twitching his eyebrows.
"Ugh."
It's Kaiden.
But why is he taking his top off here?
Come to think of it, I felt chilly in the middle of the night. Maybe it was because I was wet. Ah, maybe that's why? To raise my body temperature? Considering that, it was Kaiden who was out of it.
I carefully placed my hand on his forehead. He had a fever.
I was still wearing my wet dress, but Kaiden had taken off his top to raise my body temperature and was hugging me, so it was no wonder.
"Damn it."
To catch a cold in this situation. This is a big problem.
'I packed some over-the-counter medicine in my crossbody bag.'
I looked around for my bag. But there was nothing that looked like a bag anywhere.
"Could it be..."
Did it fall into the river?
Flares and Bombs are useless when they get wet. It means they just become junk.
"Damn it!"
I tore at my hair. Kaiden needs to get his fever down.
I checked his temperature again by placing my hand on his forehead, then hardened my resolve to start a fire.
Starting a fire at night isn't a good idea, but if Kaiden dies of hypothermia, that's an even bigger problem.
"It's always strange. Exceptions always happen only to you."
"It's been strange all along. There weren't just one or two things. Margaret, tell me what you're hiding."
"Are you trying to run away alone again? You're only thinking about running away, aren't you? You were planning to abandon us from the beginning."
I recalled the conversation I had with Kaiden just before the Tarantula appeared.
Kaiden's reasons for suspecting me were very valid. If I were in the opposite position, I would have done the same.
I also knew that he was 'pretending to have feelings' for me. But there's a difference between vaguely expecting something and being confirmed.
Yes, I'm not the protagonist of the novel. It's Yuanna.
I didn't expect the male leads' attitudes to change right away just because I showed a slightly different side of myself. It's a bit bitter, but that's reality.
I put aside unnecessary thoughts and reassessed the situation. Starting a fire is the priority now.
"Ha. Damn it, the Zippo lighter is in the bag too."
If I had that, I could have started a fire a little easier.
I sighed and got up from my spot. Then, I drew the dagger that was stuck in Kaiden's waist.
Kaiden's shirt and Wizard Robe were spread out on the branches, probably hung up by him. I wish I could take off my dress too.
'It's so sticky.'
But I couldn't really stand naked in front of Kaiden, so I approached the branches with my damp dress on.
The shirt seemed to be completely dry, and the cloak still had some wet parts, but it seemed pretty good.
I put the clothes back on Kaiden, covered him with the robe like a blanket, and got up.
The place where we were lying was in the forest not far from the river. It was a fortress-like place surrounded by huge leaves, but how did he find a place like this?
I looked around for wood to start a fire.
I was wandering around like that for a while. Something white sparkled in my sight.
Please, not another Monster.
I was scared and swallowed hard. I clenched my fists with my bare hands, feeling nervous, and slowly moved my feet.
As I got a little closer, I saw that it wasn't a Monster, but an egg the size of a fist. It was silver, so it sparkled very beautifully in the moonlight.
It was a very familiar shape.
It looked similar to the one I saw on the cliff. The very mysterious egg that was the initial cause of putting Kaiden and me in this situation.
"...No way, it can't be."
